7 Ways a Technician in Training Can Use Technology to Learn Faster

If you're a technician in training, it can be daunting to climb the mountain of information that's thrown at you. If you're charged with setting up a training program that's efficient and cost-effective, that's a steep hill, too. Fortunately, there are untapped technology solutions that can help both sides reach new peaks in effective training.

Below are 7 ways a technician in training can use technology to learn faster:

Creating an enterprise mobile training app is like a video game cheat code. You're skipping levels. Instead of spending time and money putting together and distributing manuals, access codes, videos, tours, etc. you're feeding all necessary information through one easy-to-use interactive app. More than that, a training app can be updated easily when needed. A training app allows you to reach employees wherever they are and make sure they have direct access to the information and training materials they need, right in hand.

Augmented Reality superimposes the digital world onto the physical world. Effectively, this allows a user to see another layer that assists with a task (like arrows and diagrams showing how to change the oil in a car) and allows for a virtual representation of an entire piece of equipment to be viewed anywhere. For training, this has enormous cost-cutting benefits and can train someone faster. Instead of constantly stopping to reference a manual, complicated repair jobs become hands-on learning experiences. If you're training a technician from a distance, you can ship an iPad instead of flying them in or shipping the machinery out.

CAD-to-CGI allows for more versatile visuals so technicians in training can better see the machinery and instruments they'll be expected to work with. Unlike using photos or video for training purposes, using CGI images, animation, and more allows for incredible reuse potential. Modify specs or appearances easily, instead of recreating all of your visuals from scratch. CGI visuals aren't bound by common obstacles. Need to show a new truck model in a rough-terrain environment? CGI can put it there without the logistical headache.

For faster tours of facilities, use proximity technology. A technician in training can use their smartphone as the tour guide, moving at their own pace. Using low powered bluetooth beacons, a technician could be served information about each part of the facility right on their device. For those overseeing the training, it's easy to get direct feedback on when a technician visited each facility checkpoint, making sure their tour is complete.

A high-performing touch screen display can be a training difference-maker. Technicians in training can benefit from calling up training exercises or materials on their own terms. Using an engaging and quick interactive touch screen, technicians can decide how and when to display the information they need or want to learn. A touch screen display can also supplant a staff member who needs to hover around a technician while they're training, by offering easily accessible FAQs, manuals, access codes and more.

Virtual Reality is a step further than Augmented Reality. Instead of superimposing the virtual world onto the physical world, it immerses users completely in the virtual. VR aims to block out the physical world and allows for an all-encompassing virtual experience. This has the potential to cut training cost and time down dramatically. Often, training has to be done on location (like a job site or remote facility). With VR, you can transport technicians in training wherever you need them. By replacing physical travel with virtual, you're training faster and at less expense.

'Gamification' is the concept that people learn better and more efficiently when the training process is presented as a game. With a gamified training app, technicians can learn the tasks and processes they need to, without being bogged down by dry material or slowed by information overload. Done right, a gamified app will bring the team together, allow technicians to have fun training, and will cut down on the time spent training altogether.

Scale the mountaintop of effective training faster by using these untapped technologies.